If you focus, you can have nearly complete control over your own attention.
While the choice is always yours, it’s hard not to feel that the environment we live in powerfully shapes our preferences. I used to read dozens of books a year, and now that number is much lower. I still take in a lot, but some of that has shifted to articles, Substack posts, tweets, podcasts, and other shorter-form media.
Is that a bad thing? I’m not entirely sure. What scares me most is how easily it happens without having decided anything. It’s very easy to let your attention drift toward whatever interesting thing requires the least friction.
Most of my reading and viewing are technology-driven, which is, of course, notorious for its lack of friction. You can pick up your phone anywhere and instantly have a good time. On one level, that’s awesome, but on another it’s downright frightening.
What happens in a world where you can have whatever you want whenever you want it? We can easily see the results when it comes to food—many people have become obese and sick. It seems likely that giving your attention span over to the smorgasbord that technology offers would have a similar effect.
The way to combat this is not with fear or a retreat from modern life, but with intentionality.
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4 Ways to Resist Technology’s Instant Gratification
You have to choose when and where technology is allowed, and decide what you desire from it at all times. In other words, be the boss who directs your attention in a way that achieves your ends.
1. Set Limits
Modern devices are designed to grab and keep your attention. One of the most powerful ways they do this is with notifications. It’s hard not to look when you hear a ping or see a badge with a new notification. Our brains tend to be drawn to novelty—so even trying to resist checking pulls away your focus. I recommend limiting these interruptions to the most important ones, then putting your phone on focus mode when you truly want undivided attention.
2. Reflect on the Purpose of Your Technology Use
Every tool, technology, or media that you allow into your life should have a clear purpose. When you’re done, you should put the tool away. You wouldn’t keep holding your hammer when you’re done with the nails, so you shouldn’t keep your phone out when you’re done with whatever you were doing. This doesn’t mean you can’t use technology for leisure. It just means you should decide in advance how much is enough and not snack on entertainment all day just because it’s so convenient.
3. Maintain Hobbies That Stretch Your Attention Span
The advent of technology that removes friction is a net good. However, a life with no friction at all can leave you with very little grit and a short attention span—that’s not a recipe for thriving. It’s sort of like my desk job: I’m glad I don’t have to labor in the sun all summer or in the cold all winter, but because my job doesn’t require movement, I have to add it back in through exercise. In the same way, it’s good to maintain hobbies that still require attention and focus so that you don’t lose that critical human skill.
4. Be Prepared for Moments of Boredom
If you’ve ever been to an all-inclusive resort or on a cruise, you know how tempting it can be to eat all day long. When the time and cost to access good food drop to practically nothing, many of us eat much more. A similar thing happens with boredom: our phones allow us to escape it anytime we want, in less than a few seconds. It’s hard for any activity to compete with that. Over time, our capacity to endure a little boredom on the road to something even greater is being eroded. Just like the buffet, the key is to decide in advance how much you will take in, and have an alternate plan for when you’re bored.
I don’t plan on giving up social media anytime soon. I genuinely enjoy it and have learned a lot from the like-minded people I follow. We can enjoy the many benefits of technology without letting our attention-span muscles atrophy—just as I think it’s possible to live in America and enjoy its culinary delights without becoming overweight. The secret, in both cases, is the same: Decide what you want before the craving decides for you.
